Nico Rosberg, an 800bhp concept car, the Red Pig, Valtteri Bottas, the F1 WO5 Hybrid and the performance thunder of cars known as Black Series and E63… so many of our favourite things, and all heading to the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard this year. The manufacturer? Mercedes-AMG, of course…
JUN 09th 2017
AMG GT Concept and W05 Hybrid F1 car to head Mercedes‑AMG 50‑year celebration at FOS!
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AMG’s stellar line-up of heroic men and machines for the 2017 FOS (29th June - 2nd July) is a not-to-be-missed occasion to celebrate a special birthday. Aufrecht, Melcher and Grossaspach is 50 this year.
With a bigger range of go-faster Mercs than ever and increasing product autonomy within the Mercedes family, Daimler’s performance division has plenty to celebrate. AMGs classic and modern, road and track, will be at FoS, on display in the Mercedes-AMG pavilion as well as blasting up the hillclimb.
Taking on the hill on the Sunday in his 2014 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W05 Hybrid will be one of FoS’s favourite people: the World Champion Nico Rosberg. Driving duty in the F1 car on the Saturday falls to the equally popular Valtteri Bottas.
Promising to be just as much of a crowd favourite charging up the 1.16 mile climb is the Red Pig, a replica of the 300 SEL 6.8 that AMG raced in the 1971 24-hours at Spa. It’s the limo that beat sports cars to come home second overall…
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New AMGs in action include the 600bhp E63 S, GT C Roadster, GT R and the mighty SLS AMG Black Series. Don’t worry, you’ll hear ‘em coming… Over at the Merc-AMG pavilion the most intriguing AMG concept ever will be making its UK debut. The GT Concept, which premiered at the Geneva show in March this year, shows the brand’s increasing autonomy: it’s a spacious five-door coupe version of the GT sports car and a model without any Mercedes equivalent.
The striking concept, with its imposing PanAmericana grille and sporting profile, is badged EQ Power+ – the badge on the coming wave of AMG performance hybrids – to indicate what’s under the bonnet. And it’s quite a lot: 804bhp, in fact, thanks to the familiar 4.0-litre biturbo V8 and a single electric motor working as a performance booster. 0-62mph? Under 3.0secs says AMG. FoS will be UK fans’ first opportunity to see this future Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo rival up close.
And what of that much-anticipated other AMG concept for 2017? We’ll have to wait until later in the year to get first sight of the F1-powered AMG hypercar… It’s quite a birthday year for AMG!
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